LGN Con Report Day 1

gamescom 2018 Day 1

gamescom Day 1 prelude

kongdom hearts 3 gamescom 2018 boothIt was the first time ever that LGN went to gamescom. This blog and most importantly YOU – my followers and readers – made it possible, because that’s what got me a press ticket. Still feels a bit surreal, but of course, I enjoyed it.
Tuesday, day 1, is the day reserved for Press and Trade Visitors. For LGN, it started with wandering around the premises of gamescom, trying to figure out what’s where, who’s where and also checking out some of the AAA titles – nothing that will spark the interest of LGN readers sekiro shadow die twice gamescom 2018 boothreally, I guess. But I still want to mention here that I am a big Kingdom Hearts fan. The only AAA title which I played during my gamescom visit was exactly that: KH3, I can’t wait for its release! There were other big titles that peaked my interest, like Sekiro by From Software, but I didn’t feel like standing in like for 1-2 hours just to get a glimpse, so I passed.

The 1st meeting – Strictly Limited Games

strictly limited games - co-founder benedict braitsch
SLG co-founder Benedict Braitsch

The first meeting of the day was with Benedict Braitsch, co-founder of Strictly Limited Games with whom I discussed their latest announcements and how much I liked Stardust: Galaxy Warriors. I completed the game’s story mode earlier one day before Gamescom and it’s AWESOME! Don’t miss out on this gem of a SHMUP when it releases this Sunday, August 26th (more info HERE).

strictly limited games - co-founder dennis mendel
SLG co-founder Dennis Mendel

We also discussed Project Hardcore, but more on that in the report on day 2.

Indie Arena Booth

Next, I went to see the Indie Arena Booth in hall 10.1 to check for interesting indie games.
I saw a lot of promising titles, but there are 3 which I would like to highlight as my personal favorites. You will notice that I have a strong addiction to retro-style / pixel art-style games.

1. Alchemic Cutie by Thomas Cashman & Sebastien Vakericsalchemic cutie by thomas cashman
I was drawn to it like a moth to the light by its beautiful visuals. It’s plain to see that there is a lot of influence by 16-bit games like Pokémon and Zelda. Thomas himself described the game as a relaxing farming/adventure RPG set on a colorful island. While managing your farm, you’ll tame wild jellies, meet villagers and uncover the secrets of the island.
The game is in development for PC only at the moment with a release date in 2019, but Thomas is interested in porting the game to console and is exploring options for how to achieve that. Also, once it’s ported to console, he would love to see a limited physical release of the game. Me too. 🙂

Follow Alchemic Cutie on Twitter: @alchemiccutie
This is the developers: @tom_cashman & @vakerics
Also check out their YouTube channel for some cute gameplay: Alchemic Cute on YouTube

2. STAY by Appnormals Teamstay appnormals team gamescom 2018 screenshot
Developed by a small dev team called Appnormals Team, this game also features a beautifully drawn pixel art-style. The team describes the game as atmospheric adventure game featuring pixel-style graphics and a gripping thriller-like story atmospheric adventure game featuring pixel-style graphics and a gripping thriller-like story.
The game ran on 2 systems during Gamescom: Nintendo Switch and Mac PC.
It’s already available digitally on Xbox One & Steam and will be coming to digitally to PS4, and Nintendo Switch later, published by PQube.
It will also come digitally to PS Vita, this will be published by Ratalaika Games.
There is no official word yet on a physical version, but we can all hope for it, right?

Follow Stay on Twitter here: @stay_the_game
Also follow Appnormals Team here: @appnormals
Appnormals Team has a YouTube channel: Appnormals Team on YouTube

3. Door Kickers: Action Squad by KillHouse Gamesdoor kickers action squad by killhouse games
This 2D side-scrolling shooter is a fast paced action shooter, which requires you to think and plan your next moves very carefully. If you don’t plan and go in guns blazing, prepare to die fast!
It’s available as early access on PC only right now. I was able to talk to one of the co-founder andof KillHouse Games, and fortunately, there are plans to bring this game to console. The cherry on top, of course, would be a maybe a limited physical release of the game.

Follow KillHouse Games on Twitter: @inthekillhouse
KillHouse Games forum: Forum
They have their own YouTube channel: KillHouse on YouTube

Concluding the Indie Arena Booth
Some other games I liked a lot:

Check here if you want to see the full list of games that were available if you like to learn more about the Indie Arena Booth in general: https://www.indiearenabooth.de/

Indie Arena Booth Gamescom 2018 trailer

YouTube player

Next stop: The Arcade Crew / Dotemuarcade crew gamescom 2018 booth

What an amazing booth they had! It was representing a 1980s children’s bedroom, complete with kick-ass movie posters from that era (Aliens, Goonies, …). I had an opportunity to talk to CEO Cyrille Imbert and Community Manager Leslie Rugard for a few minutes.
Games they had available to play for Trade Visitors:

blazing chrome by arcade crew1. Blazing Chrome (PC and console): I played it and I was speechless… it looks and feels like a kick-ass arcade follow-up to games like Contra – 100% 1980s 16-bit pixel-art-style. Trailers and words don’t do this game justice, playing is believing.

2. Young Souls (PC confirmed, console TBA): Didn’t play it myself, but it looks very good and promising. A game to keep an eye on.

arcade crew ceo - cyrille imbert
Arcade Crew / Dotemu CEO

3. Dark Devotion (coming to PC and consoles): Again, didn’t play it myself, also a game to watch.

4. Windjammers (Nintendo Switch): Already played the heck out of it on PS4, so didn’t need to try the Switch version: Awesome game!

The before-mentioned games were playable in the booth for all Trade Visitors and Press to see. Apart from that, they had something else behind closed doors, invite only. I asked nicely and… I was allowed to play Windjammers 2 against one of the Devs. (I won! :D)

arcade crew community manager - arcade crew - leslie rugard
Arcade Crew / Dotemu Communications Manager

Windjammers 2 was just announced only one day before Gamescom and I didn’t think that they would already have an early build ready. Unfortunately, no photo or capture was allowed.

Next meeting: Soedescosoedesco gamescom 2018 booth

My next appointment was with a PR Manager from Soedesco to whom I introduced Limited Game News.
We discussed their Owlboy Limited Edition and I was told that they are exploring the possibility of introducing more limited editions similar to Owlboy’s for future releases. Sweet!
Games by Soedesco which I’m looking forward to most from their current lineup are 8-Bit Armies, Omen of Sorrow and Air Missions: HIND.

Last, but not least: GameFairy

Day one was concluded by the first meeting with the 2 guys behind GameFairy. These guys work on their releases with a passion. They teased great releases for the future (without naming any, sorry 8-)). I’m very glad that we see new publishers showing their love for physical releases in this day & age and I’m more than curious to find out about their new releases.